


coping skills to help you survive

by Symph_5683



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Better, Life is hard, eyepatch Ruby, its mainly hurt right now, post volume 6, so is tagging
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-26 02:26:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18273917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Symph_5683/pseuds/Symph_5683
Summary: With Yang and Blake out on a date, Winter tells Ruby and Weiss to go fight a small Grimm infestation. However, Ruby runs into an old foe along the way and Weiss is almost too late





	1. fight a battle you know you can win

 

“Are you doing okay Weiss?” Winter asked her sister. Team RWBY and their crew had been in Atlas for a week now. Jacques and Whitley were out of town for a business trip, giving them only a few days left to either a) convince Ironwood to convince Jacques to take back Weiss or, b) find somewhere else to stay.

Weiss was quiet for a minute. “What if Father doesn’t let us stay?” She asked, uncharacteristically soft.

“I’ll take care of it if he says no. You seem very stressed.”

“A little,” she admitted.

“How about you and Ruby go and kill some low-level Grimm down by the north cliff. It’s been needing to be done for a while but it’s low-level enough that it’s on the bottom of the list for the military. It always helps me to start small with something I know I can beat.”

“Thank you”

“No one knows you returned so go the back way,” Winter winked.

“Okay,” she smiled.

* * *

 

The two girls ran out to the cliff. Neither had fought something so easy in months and they were excited… until they got there. “A few” had been a gross understatement. The field below had at least 20 Ursa. Too many for the two to just dive in confidently

“I’ll stay up here if you can go down,” Ruby said, gazing down at the pack, “I’ll snipe a few and get them out of the way. Then when I say go, I’ll dive down to get to the back easier and you start from the ground.”

“Roger that,” Weiss smiled, running down the steps that had been carved out of the rocks a long time ago. She remembered coming here with Winter when they were little, skipping singing lessons. Or piano. Or any of the other things she was forced to do as a far-too-young child.

“I have the number down to about 15, is that good?”

“Perfect”

“Okay. Three, two,” Ruby took a deep breath, “one.”

Weiss shot out to the first Grimm, stabbing it. She turned and swiped across the next one. She glyphed her way into the air before descending back down, stabbing through two at the same time.

“Ruby where are you? Ruby!” Weiss had realized that her partner wasn’t anywhere to be found. She had seen Ruby land and start heading toward the cliff again but she hadn’t heard a gunshot in a few minutes.

Realizing that Ruby was nowhere to be seen, she began to change her attack style. Fewer glyphs to conserve aura and letting the Grimm come to her rather than seeking them out herself.

By the time she finished off all of the Grimm, her aura was low- almost depleted. “Ruby!” she called, “Ruby!”

She looked around. In the distance, she spotted her- held up against the rock wall from someone she didn’t recognize. She went against sane judgment and glyphed over to the girl.

“Put her down!” Weiss yelled at the unknown assailant. She looked at Ruby. She was crying blood? _Shit_. Ruby was nearing unconsciousness and blood dripped from her right eye. “What did you do to her?” She screamed.

“Her Grace wanted Ruby and I can’t let her down!” the man giggled.

“Put her down!” She pointed Myrtenaster at his throat.

“I can’t do that.” More giggling.

Ruby began to stir again. “Weiss?” she choaked out silently. Tears dripped down her face, making the blood travel further down her cheek.

“Let her go!” She slammed her weapon into the ground. She had almost no aura left but she drew up her knight until he towered over the aggressor.

“I-” he dropped Ruby and ran far far away.


	2. cry/ breathe

Ruby crumpled to the ground. Councouisness drifting in and out. “Weiss?” All she felt was pain. Her head was in Weiss’s lap.

“Shhh, you’re gonna be okay,” tears dripped down Weiss’s face.

“I-” she started “I can’t see out of my right eye.” Her voice wavered.

Weiss looked away. “I know,” she whispered. “It’s okay to cry.” Was she telling Ruby that or herself?

Tears flowed out of Ruby’s eyes. She wanted to speak but she couldn’t find the words to say.

“I’m gonna try and call Yang,” Weiss said eventually. She had lost her own scroll in the fight earlier so she grabbed Ruby’s. “Straight to voicemail.”

“She’s on a date with Blake,” Ruby got out.

“Shit,” Weiss called again. And again. She knew there was no way she could get Ruby up the mountain. At least not in time to get Ruby to any type of medical care.

“It hurts,” Ruby’s breaths were shallow.

“I know.” She clicked the call button again.

_“What do you need Ruby? I am on a Date!”_

“Yang I need you two to meet me at my location. I’ll send it to you. I-”

_“Weiss? Shit, We’ll be right there. Where’s Ruby?”_

“She’s alive.”

_“Weiss, what happened?”_

“You need to get here,” she tried to mask her fear so Ruby couldn’t see how worried she was.

“I- Okay.” Yang hung up.

* * *

 

Ruby’s tears almost wiped away the blood on her face. She couldn’t keep her eyes open. Her right eye felt cold and empty. Almost like it… _no don’ think that_.

“Ruby? Weiss?” Yang yelled.

“Over here!” Weiss shouted.

“Fuck, what happened?” Yang bent down to her sister’s side.

“Hi sis,” Ruby’s voice was weak.

“I can’t carry her, we need to get her out of here.”

“Weiss what- no nevermind. Where are we going?”

“We have a surgeon at the house,” she said like it was a normal thing to have.

Yang nodded and picked up her sister. “It’s gonna be okay,” she said under her breath. Blake helped Weiss up and put her arm around Weiss’s shoulder.

“Hang in there Ruby, we aren’t that far,” Yang ran up the rock stairs.

* * *

 

By the time they got to the house, Ruby was unconscious.

“Weiss? What happened?” Winter yelled as the four girls entered the house.

“Get Dr. Roux. Now.”

When the doctor came out, he looked at Ruby and immediately brought them to his office. Yang set her little sister gently on the table.

“Now what happened?” the doctor asked, putting an oxygen mask on Ruby.

“We were fighting some Ursa. This guy I have never seen was attacking her as I finished off the Grimm. When I got there he had her pinned at the wall and her eye was bleeding. When I got him to leave I realized what happened, her voice was almost robotic.

Dr. Roux lifted open Ruby’s eyelids. He examined the socket and her other eye. “There’s nothing I can do,” he said at last.

“Can’t you do a prosthetic?” Yang shot up, jerking Blake’s arm that had been holding onto her.

“I could, but I can't only do one eye. I’d have to take the other out. She wouldn’t be able to use her silver eyes anymore. I imagine that that’s pretty important, isn’t it?”

Yang’s hand was shaking. Blake stood up behind her and rubbed her shoulders.

“If you three can leave I will clean and stitch up the wound. Do you know if she has any medicinal allergies?”

“She can’t have penicillin,” Yang said, “She has bad reactions to anesthesia drugs. Codeine knocks her out for a few hours. Morphine is only good until she gets over 3mg or else she will get high. She has a high pain tolerance.”

“And you are?”

“Yang Xiao Long. Her sister. Half-sister but same difference.”

“Alright, Yang, your sister is going to be okay.”

Yang paced in front of the door. “How I am I gonna tell dad? What about Qrow? Is she still even going to be able to fight? I leave her for an hour and she loses an eye? She’s never getting out of my sight again.”

“Hey,” Blake put her hand on the center of Yang’s back, “she’s gonna be okay.”

Yang most certainly did not believe it. She wouldn’t until she saw Ruby actually being okay. “But-”

“Look at me,” Blake put her head against Yang’s, “Ruby is strong. She will be okay. You need to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. Good. Now come sit down.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this would've been out an hour ago but I had to obsess over the ending  
> shout out to Red for helping me, love you <3

The doctor came out to the girls. “She’s okay. However, I don’t want to stress her out too much but letting you all see her yet. Yang and Weiss, I’m gonna have you two wait because she needs rest and I don’t think either of you will be able to give her that.” He turned to Blake, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Blake Belladonna, I’m her teammate.”

“Okay, I’m going to have you, and only you, help me take her to her room. Once she wakes up, two people at a time can go and see her. At least until she starts feeling better.”

“Sorry,” Blake mouthed to the others, who smiled sadly and left to go and find Qrow probably.

“Hey Ruby,” Blake entered the room.

Ruby had a bandage over her eye and was a little out of it. “Hey Blake.”

Blake gave her hand to Ruby, “How about we go to your room so you can lay down?”

“Where are Yang and Weiss?” Ruby’s body was noticeably tight.

“They’re okay, just a little high strung right now. The doctor doesn’t want them to freak you out yet.”

Ruby took Blakes hand suspiciously and stood up. She stumbled as she walked to the door. “I-” She put her hand up to the bandage.

“It’s okay.”

The two walked to Ruby’s room. Ruby wasn’t used to walking with the limited depth perception that comes with losing an eye so she held on to Blake’s arm tightly. Blake led her to her bed. 

“Blake?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you promise to be truthful with me? I know Yang and Weiss will try and sugarcoat stuff.”

“Sure.”

“I don’t have my right eye anymore, do I?”

_ Truthful. Shit. _ “No”

“I thought so.” She looked up to the ceiling. “What did the doctor say?”

“Well,” she took a breath. She was certainly not the best person for this job, “You can’t get a prosthetic unless you lose the other one. The only saving grace is that you can still use the silver eye power thing.”

Ruby’s brain was running a thousand miles a minute. “I-” She ran her hand down her face and looked at it as if that would let her see the bandage.

“It’s gonna get better,” Blake hugged the girl, “it takes time, but you’ll get there. You’re strong.” She kissed Ruby on the forehead, “Now go to sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning.” She debated her next words as she walked to the door, “Goodnight, sis.”


	4. listen to your pulse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's bumbleby time

Yang was already in their room when Blake came back. “Is she-”

“She’s fine, Yang. Understandably shaken but she’ll be okay.” Blake put her hand on Yang’s shoulder.”She’ll be okay.”

Yang put her head on Blake’s shoulder and cried.

“You can see her in the morning,” Blake’s voice was soft and comforting, “come on and lay down. You need to sleep.”

Yang curled into Blake, tired and stressed and scared.

“Goodnight, love,” Blake kissed Yang on the forehead. She held her girlfriend tight. She ran her fingers through Yang’s hair as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

_ “This is the end, Blake.” Adam pushed her to the ground. “How does it feel to be alone?” _

_ “I’m not alone,” she shouted as Bumblebee collided with his face. _

_ “Catch your breath,” Yang smiled at Blake. Even nightmare Yang was adorably sweet. _

_ Blake watched the two fight. Her breathing was fast, trying to fight off an impending anxiety attack. _

_ “I told her once that I would destroy everything she loves, starting with you. Did she fail to tell you that too?”  _

_ “YANG!” Blake yelled, intent on warning her partner. _

_ Yang looked over to Blake, a sad, questioning look on her face until she looked down at her stomach. “Shit.” The calming lilac of her eyes drained as she crumpled to the ground. _

_ “You can’t run from me, Blake.” _

_ Blake knelt next to Yang. “I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault,” she sobbed. She felt Adam’s sword come up to her neck, something she hadn’t felt since before she ran the first time. _

_ “I will never let you run again.” _

* * *

Blake!” Yang whisper yelled.

Blake’s eyes shot open, her breathing labored.

“Hey hey hey, It’s okay,” Yang looked into her eyes, “you’re okay, we’re alive. He can’t hurt us anymore.”

“I- he- you-” she sobbed.

Yang picked up Blake’s hand and pressed her middle and pointer fingers to her neck. “Listen to your pulse. It’s your heart reminding you that you’re alive.” 

Blake’s pulse was rapid fire. She clamped her eyes shut, tears dripping down her face. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” Yang said gently, “this isn’t on you.” She kissed Blake on the forehead. ”Do you want to talk about it?”

Blake drew in a breath. “He.. he killed you, Yang, and I, I tried to warn you, but you just got distracted, and he stabbed you and-,” she sobbed. “I watched you die and it was all my fault.”

“Hey.” Seeing Blake like this broke her heart. She took Blake’s other hand and put it to her own neck. “See, I’m alive. I don’t plan on going down without you at my side.

Blake sat there, one hand on her neck and the other on Yang’s in the dark bedroom. Only a small amount of moonlight drifted in from the large window. The two sat there until Blake’s heartbeat mirrored Yang’s.

Blake moved her hand to under Yang’s chin, not lifting her hand up from her neck. Tilting her chin up, she brought her lips close to Yang’s, letting her close the gap.

Yang’ moved to get in a better position. They kissed until neither could quite keep breathing and then they had their lips against each other’s, smiling. Blake giggled at the sensation. Yang always loved it when Blake giggled. Blake kissed Yang again. And Yang kissed Blake. And Blake kissed Yang again and they continued until Blake was gasping for breath. 

“I love you.” She was right next to Yang’s face.

“I love you too.”

Blake curled up into Yang this time, and Yang would be there all night. After all, they protect each other.


End file.
